‘My way of fulfilling her last wish’: UP man performs wedding with deceased fiancee   

In an unusual gesture, a 29-year-old man on Monday performed a symbolic wedding with his deceased fiancee just hours before her funeral in Uttar Pradesh's Maharajganj district.

Advertisement

Priyanka Madhesia (23) allegedly committed suicide at her house on Sunday night.

Priyanka, who allegedly hanged herself to death, had an argument with her fiance, Sunny Madhesia.

The woman's family has, however, not lodged any police complaint.

As the mourning family members and villagers gathered earlier in the day in Krishna Nagar locality of Nichlaul to prepare for the woman's last rites, Sunny stepped forward with vermilion in his hand.

Amid chanting of mantras led by a local priest, he solemnly applied sindoor on the deceased woman's forehead and walked seven ritualistic circles around her bier in front of stunned onlookers, including women, who captured the episode on their mobile phones.

"This was my way of fulfilling her last wish...I loved her very much," said Sunny after performing the symbolic wedding.

"We were going to get married in November. Even though she is no more, I wanted to make her my wife the way we had both dreamt," he added.

The symbolic marriage was performed with full Hindu rituals, including an offering of 'aarti'.

Sunny later lit the funeral pyre, a role typically reserved for the spouse or a close male relative of the deceased.

The local police confirmed the rare sequence of events.

Nichlaul police station SHO Akhilesh Kumar Verma said the symbolic marriage was carried out with the consent of both families.

"It was a mutual decision. Sunny also expressed his wish to organise her 13th-day death ritual (terahvin), which traditionally concludes the mourning period," Verma told PTI.

Sunny and Priyanka had been in a relationship for over three years. Sunny, who had first met Priyanka when he moved in as a tenant in her home, later opened a mobile repair and accessories shop in the area and continued to live nearby.

The relationship was accepted by both families and the couple was formally engaged. The wedding was scheduled for November 29, 2025.

The SHO said there was a minor argument between the couple on Sunday evening.

Priyanka, who was found hanging in her room later that night, was rushed to the Community Health Centre in Nichlaul, where doctors declared her dead on arrival, he added.

No formal complaint has been lodged by the family regarding Priyanka's death, police said.